Northern Ireland Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure: Visits outside British Isles

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord President on 10 May (WA 1) concerning the Northern Ireland Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure, what were the interviews for the Cultural Affairs Office; how many interviews were held; and why the interviews were conducted in the United States.

Baroness Amos: The interviews were for the appointment—on a pilot basis—of a cultural affairs officer. The officer would act on behalf of the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure, based in the Northern Ireland Bureau in Washington. For that reason the interviews were held in Washington.
	Six candidates were interviewed. One official travelled from Belfast to conduct the interviews with Washington-based officials.

West Belfast Festival

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord President on 5 April (WA 184), on what date in August 2003 the application for funding for the 2003 West Belfast Festival arrived with the Belfast Regeneration Office; when the decision was made to pay the funding; how much it was; and on what basis it was awarded.

Baroness Amos: On 1 April 2003 Belfast Regeneration Office received a funding application for the West Belfast Festival. This application was rejected on 17 June 2003 on the basis that it exceeded the Belfast Regeneration Office three-year funding criterion. Ministers subsequently decided the existing arrangements for public funding of festivals in Northern Ireland lacked coherence and consistency across government and that a more strategic approach was needed. A festivals working group was established to take this forward.
	In the interim, for 2003, it was decided that shortfall funding should be provided for certain key festivals subject to value for money being proven. On this basis a further application for funding for the 2003 West Belfast Festival was formally lodged with Belfast Regeneration Office on 15 August 2003. This application had been developed through close working between the festival organisers and government officials following the ministerial decision. Funding of £114,548 was awarded on 15 August 2003 on the basis that there was value to be obtained from government subvention for the festival in relation to several aspects of public policy namely, tourism, arts and culture and social/community development.

European Constitution

Lord Tebbit: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the proposed European constitution, if ratified by every member state, would become a common constitution for the member states of the European Union.

Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: No. The treaty would not be a constitution for the UK. The European Union currently has treaties that set out its competences and govern its operations. These treaties effectively already form a constitutional framework for the EU. This treaty's use of the term "constitution" only makes this explicit. It would not turn the European Union into a state—any more than UNESCO is made into a state by possessing a constitution, for example.

Eurofighter Typhoon

Lord Astor of Hever: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	On what date the Ministry of Defence received the report from QinetiQ of the findings of test flights undertaken to establish whether the Eurofighter Typhoon was safe to be accepted into service; to which Minister the report was given; on what date; and what was the consequential ministerial decision.

Lord Bach: The Ministry of Defence commissioned from QinetiQ a technical assessment of Typhoon as part of the normal process of introducing a new aircraft type into RAF service. The report was received by officials on 30 April 2003 and was taken into account, along with all other relevant factors and analysis, in the release to service authorisation granted by the Assistant Chief of the Air Staff on 13 May. This allows the aircraft to be flown under the RAF flight safety regime rather than industry arrangements. Since the process does not directly involve Ministers, they did not receive a copy of the report.

Meat: Illegal Imports

Lord Rotherwick: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the Food Standards Agency will undertake a risk analysis of infectious diseases entering the United Kingdom through imports of illegal meats and bushmeat, similar to the animal-based study conducted by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Lord Warner: The Food Standards Agency has sought independent expert advice on the public health risks of imports of illegal meats and bushmeat. The advice is that the risk of exotic human infectious diseases entering the United Kingdom through the food chain is very low. The issue of illegally imported food was also considered recently by the agency's independent Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food. Members agreed that illegal imports did not require further investigation by the committee at present, although it agreed to keep a watching brief on developments in relation to action on illegal imports. We do not therefore plan to commission a further risk analysis similar to the animal-based study conducted by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
	The agency will continue to monitor data from the UK surveillance centres on cases of infection due to exotic organisms and to review scientific reports.

Action on Smoking and Health

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is the level of government grant paid to Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) during each of the past five years; and what is the total amount of government funding paid to ASH since its inception.

Lord Warner: Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) was set up in 1971.
	The Department of Health awarded a grant to ASH in 1999–2000 following an application for a grant under section 64 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968. Information on the level of grant paid to ASH prior to 1999–2000 is not available.
	ASH Scotland is a wholly independent charity with no constitutional or financial links to ASH.
	The following table sets out the details of grants awarded by the Department of Health.
	
		ASH in England
		
			 Financial Year Grants £ 
			 1999–2000 155,000 
			 2000–01 156,170 
			 2001–02 160,860 
			 2002–03 147,810 
			 2003–04 164,000 
		
	
	Separately ASH in Wales has received grants from the Welsh Office and the National Assembly for Wales as follows:
	
		ASH in Wales
		
			 Financial Year Grants £ 
			 1998–99 40,000 1 
			 1999–2000 57,500 1 
			 2000–01 118,900 2 
			 2001–02 98,045 2 
			 2002–03 136,936 2 
		
	
	Notes:
	The grants received by ASH in Wales are solely for work carried out in Wales and their accounts are separately audited from ASH.
	1 Grant received by ASH in Wales from the Welsh Office.
	2 Grant received by ASH in Wales from the National Assembly of Wales.

Skin Conditions: Actinic Keratosis

Lord Clement-Jones: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What assessment they have made of the prevalence and incidence of actinic keratosis in England.

Lord Warner: Information is not held centrally on the prevalence and incidence of actinic keratosis in England. The National Radiological Protection Board published its report on the Health Effects from Ultraviolet Radiation in 2002 (ISBN 0-85951-475-7). Copies are available in the Library. The report explains that Australian studies on actinic keratosis suggest that less than 1 per cent of such lesions progress to invasive squamous cell carcinoma per year and some of these cases may regress if ultraviolet sunlight is avoided. Some patients with multiple actinic keratosis may go on to develop squamous cell carcinoma.
	Cancer Research UK has been commissioned by the United Kingdom health departments to provide the SunSmart sun awareness campaign for the next three years. Cancer Research UK has distributed a poster of photographs to all general practitioners and practice nurses to assist in its identification showing among other skin cancer lesions, actinic keratosis. The ultraviolet collaborative stakeholders group will continue to consider all issues of health concern relating to the ultraviolet radiation.

Misleading Food Labelling: Child Health

Lord Morris of Manchester: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the reply by the Lord Warner to the Unstarred Question on misleading food labelling on 5 May (Official Report Cols. 1204–10), what developments there have been in policy making on the effects of misleading food labelling on child health.

Lord Warner: Current legislation already prohibits false or misleading labelling, but the Government believe that clearer, more informative labels would help consumers to make healthier food choices.
	The Food Standards Agency is currently consulting on an action plan on food promotion and children's diets, which includes a proposal to develop advice on signposting of foods high in salt, sugar or fat and healthier options. The plan also recommends that nutrition and health claims should not be used on children's foods which are high in fat, sugar or salt.

Businesses: Regulation

Lord Tebbit: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Sainsbury of Turville on 12 May (WA 44), whether the volume of regulation with which businesses have to comply has increased or declined since they took office in 1997.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: It is difficult to assess the volume of business regulation other than through international comparisons. The World Bank's Doing Business in 2004 (published in October 2003) named the UK among 10 countries out of 130 with the least regulation and the OECD economic survey of the United Kingdom (published January 2004) noted that "Competitive pressures appear to be relatively strong in the UK, with economic and administrative regulations inhibiting competition and barriers to trade amongst the lowest in the OECD".

Businesses: Regulation

Lord Tebbit: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they make any estimates of the costs of each new regulation to business.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: Yes. A regulatory impact assessment (RIA) is required for all regulations that have a cost or benefit to business. Copies of every RIA are available in the Libraries of the House.

Stem Cell Bank

Lord Alton of Liverpool: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Why they decided to publish the code of practice for the United Kingdom Stem Cell Bank after the establishment of the bank.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: The establishment of the UK Stem Cell Bank and the development of the code of practice for the bank by the steering committee were done in parallel; the code was published before the bank acquired the first stem cell lines.

Iraq: Ministry of Culture

Lord Renfrew of Kaimsthorn: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What support they are planning to offer the Iraqi State Organisation for Antiquities and Heritage after 30 June to encourage the conservation and curation of the historic heritage in Iraq.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The Iraqi Ministry of Culture has now assumed responsibility for its own administration and we welcome the reappointment of Mufid al-Jazairi as the Minister.
	The Coalition Provisional Authority will end on 30 June and the UK Government are looking forward to establishing a bilateral working relationship with the Ministry over future months.
	Her Majesty's Government remain committed to future work in Iraq—as exemplified by the work of the British Museum. We hope to support future exchanges between conservationists and establish a dialogue on other areas of possible co-operation.

Railways: Refranchising

Lord Berkeley: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will instruct the Strategic Rail Authority to suspend all further refranchising work until the outcome of the comprehensive spending review.

Lord Davies of Oldham: No. The Strategic Rail Authority's refranchising programme extends beyond the period of funding considered by the Government's comprehensive spending review.

East Coast Main Line

Lord Berkeley: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Why the draft invitation to tenderers for the East Coast Main Line franchise has not been issued for consultation to rail industry stakeholders; and why the consultation period is six weeks when Cabinet Office guidelines require a 12-week period.

Lord Davies of Oldham: The stakeholder consultation document was issued on 7 May to statutory consultees (some 30 local authorities) in accordance with the Railways Act.
	The SRA has exercised its discretion to reduce the consultation process timescales. It is not a precedent for any future consultations. A wider-based consultation day is being arranged for later this month. There will be another opportunity for public input on key strategic issues affecting this route and its operators when the ECML strategy is consulted upon later this year.

East Coast Main Line

Lord Berkeley: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	To whom the draft invitation to tenderers for the East Coast Main Line franchise has been issued.

Lord Davies of Oldham: Draft invitations to tender were issued on 7 May to statutory consultees (some 30 local authorities) in accordance with the Railways Act for comment.
	The four prequalified parties for the intercity east coast franchise—DSB (Danish Railways); First London, Scottish and North East Railway Ltd (First Group plc); Great North Eastern Railway Ltd (Sea Containers Ltd); and Inter city-railways (consortium of Deutsche Bahn AG, Stagecoach Group plc and Virgin Group Investments Ltd)—were also given copies of the draft.